Give Me Hope
by Poseure
Summary: "The thing with water though, is that it can be very dangerous, almost catastrophic, at any point. Rather, with fire, the beauty lies in it's power. It's beautiful because of the fear it evokes." Zutara.


"I don't understand."

"What could you possibly not understand?"

They found themselves at an impasse. Her voice was cold and his gaze was hard.

"Why you're lying."

"You say it with such certainty, as if that's definitely the truth. But it isn't."

"You're still doing it."

She pierced him with her fiery gaze; the opposite of what her own gang stood for. They wanted peace and tranquility, for they were water. His own gang, they wanted battles to brew so an answer could be reached, thus they were fire. They had two viewpoints. Two very different viewpoints.

The thing with water though, is that it can be very dangerous, almost catastrophic, at any point. It can easily surround you and drown you, the second you become surprised or distracted. At any given moment, you can lose. That was water's power. It's beauty and grace hides the hidden terror that comes with it.

Rather, with fire, it's so powerful and ferocious that it in itself can no longer be considered beautiful by those afraid of it. When really, the beauty lies in it's power. It's beautiful because of the fear it evokes.

They stared at each other, hearing the sounds of anger morphing around their hiding spot. Grunts and shouts and cries as the two unspoken rivals fought for the need to prove that for once, there is an equal even though they both know that no matter what, there will never be one surpassing the other. What fire lacks in grace, it makes up in power. What water lacks in force, it makes up in stealth. As it always was, there were never ways to come to a decision.

The two would always argue, no matter what. It would always come between them, for they were both stubborn and angry souls. But as with all love, one had to back down periodically if only to see the other one soften and open their arms to forgive that one brief moment.

In that particular moment, water's beauty emerged in a new facet; vulnerability. It was the fire's weakness, surprisingly. For fire fought to prove it's worth against the element that so easily hindered it. Whenever water put down it's weapons and its defense to let fire in, a surprisingly powerful _new_ element emerged.

Her eyes were cast downward, her shoulders hunching over, a hand tangling itself in her hair. That way, he saw her defenses thrown away, if only to feel the warmth his fire could give her. He walked over to her, his eyes softening and his arms yearning to hold her. When they did, she tucked her head onto his shoulder, letting it lie there in relaxation. He rested his upon hers, trying as hard as he could to block the sounds of unnecessary war out. He wanted that moment between them untouched and pure.

This was impossible, as was so many other things in their affair. They knew it was not meant to be, if anything they could both suffer terribly both from their own element as well as from the other. Because the truth was, on their own, they were individuals, but together, they let a lot of the evil blow away, the steam from their combined elements leaving them, allowing them to feel the freedom of being with the one most special to them.

Though, together, a part of them left along with the steam. The part that had them resilient and capable of surviving through such tough environments would leave them, for they would see so much good that the bad they'd already seen would be forgotten. The happiness they have with one another would hold them back from being able to survive. Because their resilience, it was bad as well, but it allowed for them to withstand all the horrid sights they saw on a daily basis.

He backed her onto a wall, touching her cheek with his thumb. She looked up at him, asking with her eyes if their fate had truly been decided for them. He whispered to her, "We should be the ones deciding."

The hope shined brighter, "Do you think we can manage that?"

To him, the truth to that question was no. But he knew something, something that grew deep down at the pit of him. If they didn't try, they would never find out if they could do it. And he realized it was possible to just leave, in that moment, leave and never have to be a part of all the killing going on around him, the closest might be to witness it one more time. But with all the death around them, to vanish would be just like dying to those who fight these battles. "Yes, we can."

She touched her forehead to his, "How?"

"You have to be willing to give me you. Give me all of you if only to leave behind the links that have you connected to this world. Once you do that, you and I, we can run. We can run and run until there are no more limits for the two of us. Where safety is not in defense but in actual honest security. Then, we can live. So do you give me yourself?" His voice was so soft but so intense and it gave her shivers. He spoke of that life, the one they both desired like it was truly within reach.

It fooled her enough to answer him, "Yes."


End file.
